The reality of entrepreneurship is that it is a cold hard world. We long for a sense of community, of belonging, to the extent that we will work in a job we hate, for an organization that does not acknowledge we exist, in order to fulfill our need for society.
When I left my previous job to dive into the frigid waters of self-employment, my co-workers gave me a red Swingline stapler in memory of Milton Waddams of the movie 'Office Space'. Milton allowed himself to be subjected to escalating indignities from his desire to belong, until he ultimately destroyed the organization that refused to acknowledge him. He could not reconcile his need to belong with his perceived individuality.
As an entrepreneur you must be an individual; to create a path where none previously existed. Yet the human need for community cannot be ignored. Coming to terms with these seemingly contradictory needs can be a difficult proposition. Our sense of value in society (our self-worth) is inextricably wrapped up with our organizational roles, in the broadest sense; whether we look at the organization as the company we work for, society as a whole, or our own families. It is always in the perspective of our relationship with others, outside ourselves.
So where does the entrepreneur look for validation? A change of perspective is needed; self-worth must come from the self, and not from the outside. This is the struggle, the hurdle that has to be crossed. It is not simply the matter of creating a better mousetrap, we all have the intelligence to do that. It is the willingness to move against the flow, or apart from it, and find a new form of self validation.
